Structure of Our Degree Programmes

Spanning early modern theatre to contemporary live art, to performances that take place in everyday life, our degrees investigate the role of theatre and performance in cultural, social, and political life.

Exploring the boundaries of what theatre and performance might be as much as what they are, Drama at Queen Mary approaches theory and practice as mutually beneficial modes of enquiry.

We offer a wide and flexible range of undergraduate degree programmes and module options. Whether you join us as a single or joint honours student, our degrees allow you to incorporate your own interests, whether these are practical, theoretical, or focused on particular historical periods or critical concerns. We also encourage you to develop new interests and new avenues of enquiry—studying Drama at Queen Mary is about exploring theatre and performance in ways you’ve never experienced before.

You can study Drama as a single subject or in combination with another subject (such as English, Film, or Languages). Single honours Drama students take all or the majority of their modules in Drama. Joint honours students take half of their modules in Drama and the other half in a second subject. There is also the opportunity to take modules in another subject in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. For all students, your first year involves a series of required modules intended to provide a foundation for further study in Drama. After that you’ll take a combination of required modules and options, depending on whether you’re a single or joint honours student. Our wide variety of options draw on the latest research of Drama’s academic staff and explore specialised topics in theatre and performance studies.

Each year you’ll take 120 credits of coursework, with each module in Drama worth either 15 or 30 credits. There are some exceptions, but most seminar-based modules are 15 credits (with two hours of class per week per module) and most practice-based modules are 30 credits (with four hours of class per week, plus scheduled unsupervised practice).